Loose leaf binders



March 31, 1970 F. D. w. WHADCOAT E 3,503,694

LOOSE LEAF BINDERS Filed on. s. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOE FRAN/L DAV/D WALTER W/IA DCOAT 5V DOVALD coo/ 52 March 31, 1970 F. o. w. WHADCOAT ET AL 3,503,694

LOOSE LEAF BINDERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1967 IN vavroe FRANKDAV/D H4LT m/namqr HITOE/VEYS United States Patent 3,503,694 LOOSE LEAF BINDERS Frank David Walter Whadcoat and Donald Cooper,

Harlow, England, assignors to Dorstel Press Limited, Harlow, Essex, England, a British company Filed Oct. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 673,174 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 6, 1966, 44,762/ 66 Int. Cl. B42f 13/12 U.S. Cl. 40268 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A loose leaf binder having a base member on which filing posts for receiving papers are mounted and a retaining member for the papers, the retaining member being slidable towards the base member to hold the papers on the filing posts and away from the base member to permit removal of the papers from the filing posts, the binder being adapted for use with or without a cover and effective for filing papers of different dimensions and varying quantities.

The invention relates to a loose leaf binder and more particularly to a lOOse leaf binder comprising one or more filing posts and means for releasably engaging the free end of each filing post so as to retain the leaves held on the posts.

It is an object of the invention to provide a construction of binder which is effective even when of low overall depth and width and which is therefore suitable for use, for example, as a cheque book.

According to the invention a loose leaf binder comprises a retaining member of U or channel section, one arm having laterally extending slots formed therein through which filing posts mounted on a base member project, the retaining member being slidable towards and away from the base member so as to engage or disengage the other arm of the retaining member and the free end of each filing post.

According to the invention furthermore if and when required a cover or folder may be provided adapted to receive and hold the binder so that the filed papers are held within the folder.

One construction according to the invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a binder cover with the cover open;

FIGURE 2 is a part sectional end elevation of a binder and cover with the binder in the closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a binder in the closed position;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevation of a binder in the closed position;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a binder in the open position;

FIGURES 6a and 6b show the operation of the binder;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged, partially broken sectional view taken on the line VIIVII of FIGURE 4.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings a loose leaf binder and cover comprises a generally rectangular cover or folder 1 of polyvinyl chloride foldable into two parts about a spine part 2, one part of the folder having an inner skin 3 and an outer skin 4 which are secured together round three sides by welding.

The open side provides a slot 5, extending parallel to the spine 2 of the cover and adapted to receive the longer arm 6 of a U or channel section retaining member 8, and a base member 7, advantageously of a rigid synthetic 3,503,694 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 plastics material, so that the arm 6 and base member 7 are sandwiched between the inner skin 3 and the outer skin 4 of the folder 1, the other arm 9 of the channel section retaining member 8 extending above the inner skin 3 when the retaining member is in the closed position as hereinafter described.

The base member 7 has a pair of filing posts 10 extending upwardly therefrom and through lateral slots 11 formed in the arm 6.

When a folder is used with the retaining member 8, the filing posts 10 also extend upwardly through holes (not shown) provided in the inner skin 3.

Preferably the base member 7 and the posts 10 are formed as an integral moulding of a synthetic plastics material.

As shown in FIGURES 6a and 6b, the retaining member 8 may be moved to and fro in relation to the filing posts 10 and base member 7 from a holding position (FIGURE 6a), in which the free ends of the posts 10 engage the arm 9 and hold the papers between the arms 6 and 9, to a release position (FIGURE 6b), in which the free ends of the posts 10 are unobstructed and papers may be removed from, or added to, the filing posts.

The inner end of each lateral slot 11 is formed with a projection 12 which extends inwardly into the slot 11 to form a constriction therein adjacent the innermost end of the slot, which constriction permits the posts 10, when moved to their innermost or holding position as illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 6a, to be resiliently moved and held by means of a snap-action.

In the holding position shown in FIGURE 6a, the posts 10 are in engagement with the projections 12 of the slots 11. The projections 12 thus effectively act as locking devices to permit the posts 10 from easily or inadvertently being removed from their innermost or holding positions.

Recesses 13 are advantageously formed in the arm 9 of the retaining member 8 to receive the free ends of the filing posts 10 when the posts are in their innermost or holding positions.

The filing posts 10 are under-cut as indicated at 10a at positions adjacent the base member 7 to further facilitate the snap-action engagement and ensure that the posts are held firmly in position.

Slots 14 are formed in the arm 6 of the retaining member 8 adjacent each lateral slot 11, the adjacent slots 11 and 14 resulting in the formation of a thin strip therebetween, which strip has the projection 12 formed thereon. The strips add resilience to the construction so as to create a snap-action and prevent wear of the projections 12. It has been found that with some plastics materials, the projections will in time wear away unless this precaution is taken.

In operation the retaining member is moved so that the arm 9 is clear of the filing posts 10, the papers to be filed are placed on the filing posts and the arm 9 is brought into engagement with the filing posts 10 either by engaging the free ends of the posts in recesses 13 or, if recesses are not included, by engagement of the free ends with the underside of the arm 9.

In this position the undercut portions of the posts 10 engage the projections 12 to lock the posts in the closed position. To remove some or all of the filed papers the arm 9 is moved so that the posts are disengaged from the arm 9 and the papers lifted clear of the posts.

As shown in the drawings (FIGURE 4) the forward edge of the arm 9 is formed with a slightly raised lip so that the arm may slide easily over the top of the papers on file when the retaining member is moved to the closed position.

It will be understood that the filing, retention, and release of the papers does not depend on or require the provision of a folder but can be eflected by a binder comprising merely the retaining member 8, base member 7, and filing posts 10. The folder 1 is of advantage in providing a cover for the papers but it is not an essential for filing.

It will also be appreciated that the binder is applicable for filing papers of different dimensions and is effective for varying quantities. The binder provides a slim container for cheques or the like, it also provides an efficient filing device for larger quantities and sizes of papers; the spacing of the filing posts and the depth and width of spine of the retaining member are not limited to any particular dimensions but may be varied to deal with a wide range of documents.

What is claimed is:

1. A loose leaf binder, comprising:

a one-piece retaining member of channel-shaped section having a pair of spaced, substantially parallel arms interconnected by a connecting portion;

one of said arms having a pair of elongated, substantially parallel slots formed therein, said slots extend ing outwardly in a direction away from said connecting portion;

a one-piece base member positioned adjacent to and slideable relative to said retaining member, said base member including an elongated base portion positioned adjacent to the exterior side of said one arm and extending transversely across said slots;

said base member further inluding a pair of posts fixedly secured to and extending outwardly from said base portion, said posts being slideably received within said slots and extending therethrough in a direction toward said other arm, said posts when positioned adjacent the outer ends of said slots having the free ends thereof spaced from said other arm to permit loose leaf sheets to be freely added to or removed from said posts, slideable movement of said posts within said slots toward the inner end thereof causing the free ends of said posts to be positioned closely adjacent said other arm for preventing loose leaf sheets from being added to or removed from said posts;

means cooperating with said posts for yieldably resisting movement of said base member relative to said retaining member when said posts are positioned adjacent the inner end of said slots, said means including a projection integral with said one arm and extending into each slot adjacent the inner end thereof, said projection creating a snap-lock obtsructing movement of said posts along said slots; and means coacting between said one arm and said base member for preventing movement of said base member relative to said one arm in a direction transversely of the plane of said one arm and thereby to prevent movement of said posts out of said slots.

2. A loose leaf binder according to claim 1, wherein said retaining member is integrally formed in one piece of plastic material, and wherein said base member is integrally formed in one piece of plastic material.

3. A loose leaf binder according to claim 1, wherein said one arm is substantially longer than'said other arm, and said slots formed in said one arm extend beyond the outer edge of said other arm so that the free ends of said posts are exposed, when said posts are positioned adjacent the outer end of said slots, to facilitate the addition or removal or loose leaf sheets, said other arm extending beyond the inner ends of said slots for preventing removal of sheets from said posts when said posts are positioned adjacent the inner end of said slots.

4. A loose leaf binder according to claim 3, in which recesses are formed in the free edge of said other arm to receive the free ends of said posts when said posts are positioned adjacent the inner ends of said slots.

5. A loose leaf binder according to claim 3, in which the free edge of said other arm is formed with an upturned lip to facilitate positioning of the loose leaf sheets between said pair of arms when said posts are moved toward the inner ends of said slots.

6. A loose leaf binder according to claim 1, wherein said one arm is provided with a second pair of elongated, substantially parallel slots therein with each of said second slots being positioned adjacent to and substantially parallel with a respective one of said first-mentioned slots, said first-mentioned and said second slots resulting in the formation of narrow resilient strips therebetween. and said projections being integrally connected to said narrow strips to create a resilient snap-action to facilitate the positioning and holding of said posts adjacent the inner ends of said first-mentioned slots.

7. A loose leaf binder according to claim 1, wherein said means coacting between said one arm and said base member comprise an undercut groove provided in each of said posts adjacent said base portion, said groove being positioned adjacent an edge of said slot for securing said base member relative to said retaining member in a direction transversely of said one arm.

-8. A loose leaf binder according to claim 1, including folder means adapted to receive and hold said retaining member and said base member for permitting holding of said loose leaf sheets, said folder means including a pair of covers and means hingedly connecting said covers for permitting same to be pivotally moved toward and away from one another, one of said covers being provided with a separate flap portion secured to the inner side thereof, said flap portion and said one cover defining a pocket therebetween, and said flap portion being provided with a pair of spaced openings therethrough adjacent the free edge of said pocket; and

said one arm of said retainer member being positioned within said pocket between said one cover and said flap portion, and the base portion of said base member also being positioned within said pocket with the posts of said base member extending upwardly through the pair of openings formed in said flap portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 668,616 2/1901 Aberle.

785,750 3/1905 Montgomery l2923 955,330 4/1910 Haldeman 129-23 1,442,620 1/1923 Landon l2923 X 1,464,178 8/1923 Gowran 129 23 1,588,947 6/1926 Dinsmoor 129 9 FOREIGN PATENTS 713,853 7/1965 Canada. 666,324 10/1938 Germany.

JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner 

